Celtics win first title; Loscutoff drafted; Barnes, O’Connell, Kappen,

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the Boston Celtics won the first of their 17 championships in 1957, a 125-123 double-overtime thriller at the Boston Garden against the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks.

The Hawks and Celtics had been tied three games to three heading into the critical Game 7 contest and saw rookie and future legendary big man Bill Russell grab a record 32 rebounds, the most ever for a rookie in any NBA Finals game up to that point. It also saw one-day Hall of Famer Tommy Heinsohn, a 6-foot-7 rookie forward, scored 37 points and 23 rebounds in the win.

The victory sparked a short-lived rivalry between the two clubs that would end in the early 1960s, supplanted by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Elgin Baylor (22) of the Minneapolis Lakers, dribbles ball by Jim Loscutoff of the Boston Celtics in their National Basketball Association game at Boston Garden on November 11, 1958. (AP Photo Bill Chaplis)

It is also the date that former Celtic forward Jim Loscutoff was drafted by Boston in the 1955 NBA Draft — third overall — out of Oregon.

Loscutoff would play for the Celtics for nine seasons, averaging 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds over that stretch. Boston would win six championships while he was on the team, with his bruising defense being a significant factor in many of them.

He requested “Loscy”, his nickname — not his jersey number, No. 18 — be retired so future Celtics would still be able to wear it.

(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

A number of Celtics were born today, starting with Anthony George Kappen, better known as Tony when he played for Boston in its inaugural season of 1946-47.

Born in 1919, Kappen grew up in New York City but did not play basketball collegiately, joining the first iteration of the storied franchise on the strength of his reputation as a player.

The guard appeared in just 18 games for Boston before being dealt to the (now defunct) Pittsburgh Ironmen for Moe Becker, averaging 4.1 points per game with the team in his time…